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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30003366">A Day in the Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeandSpaceNovelist/pseuds/TimeandSpaceNovelist'>TimeandSpaceNovelist</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>As Time Goes By [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who, Doctor Who &amp; Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dating, Day At The Beach, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fun, Humor, Love, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Soufflaker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 20:08:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,176</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30003366</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeandSpaceNovelist/pseuds/TimeandSpaceNovelist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A simple decision by the Doctor to pick up Clara from work, turns into an unforgettable day for the both of them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Thirteenth Doctor &amp; Clara Oswin Oswald, Thirteenth Doctor/Clara Oswin Oswald</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>As Time Goes By [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2143041</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Day in the Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>To be quite honest, I don't know where this came out from. I had just had an idea of doing something with Clara and 13 to expound on their relationship and love and out came this. Hope you enjoy it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She closes her roll book as the bell to end the day rings out. She simply waits a little while, watching the students file out, eager to start their weekend break. She shakes her head and softly smiles, remembering her time as a student at university. She was never one to usually rush out of class, always wanting to speak to the teacher before she left. No such students for her this time, but seeing as it was the end of her first week, she understood it. That relationship between teacher and students hadn’t been properly developed yet, but she’d get her hooks in them. Like someone very special once said, once she gets in your head, she doesn’t leave.</p><p>Now being able to drop the role of teacher, she lets her hair out, always preferring to let it swing about, usually when she was running. As she smoothed it out, she wondered about adding extensions to it, an artificial but needed way to have longer hair; her condition preventing her hair from ever truly growing naturally. She checks her phone in order to see what messages she’s missed. She scrolls through a blur of random advertisements, emails for things she signed up for ages ago and an alarm letting her know her weekend had begun. Until she reaches something that made her grin from ear to ear. A small WhatsApp message, nothing too complicated. But its intentions and its sender mattered most to her.</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>“Waiting outside for you. Can’t wait to start the weekend. XOXO - The Doctor”</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>She tried telling her that she didn’t need to sign off with her name, that the app shows her who sent it, but she didn’t listen. She did that a lot. But she didn’t want her to stop. She found it really sweet and lovely. She had her motorcycle to ride to her with, but being picked up was also fine. She loved being pampered by her. She packed her stuff up and swung her handbag over her shoulder as she left the now empty classroom, ever so eager to meet the one she loved.</p>
<hr/><p>Luckily for her, her last class was on the ground floor, which meant she could simply walk out of the building as quick as she liked. The elevator was out-of-order today and with the typical sleepy feeling she got after a full day of classes; she was in no mood to walk down flights of stairs. Her journey wasn’t long, the only real stop gaps being quick conversations with other members of staff. There were a few who commented on her age as she had brief but stimulating conversations with them, surprised at how wise she was for someone so young. If they only knew how old she really was…. There was one last stop with the guard before she was finally let out of the building and into the free world, where that special person was waiting for her.</p><p>The Doctor stood right outside the building, leaning against the Tardis, which was parked between two cars from the staff. It was quite an impressive parking space for her, seeing as she wasn’t always so on target. Clara remembered finding herself in Bristol once when they had finished with their travels for that day, 120 miles from her apartment. Granted, it was because of aliens from another dimension who were trying to become 3D, but that’s beside the point. Clara realized that the Doctor couldn’t see her right away, so she decided to take a look at her. Well, more so a stare, but she wasn’t to know that.</p><p>For once, the Timelord was relatively calm as she waited for Clara, her foot tapping showing her impatience. She could have regenerated as many times as she wanted, the Doctor would always be impatient and get bored quickly. So the fact that she still waited for her, even after all this time, warmed her heart. The glow from the sun’s rays brightened her face and hair. Her blonde locks looked particularly golden now, as it now cascaded down onto her shoulders. She did want to inform her of how long it had grown since they first met, but she didn’t want to infringe on her wants. Plus, she liked it longer like that; it made it easier to run her hands through, which she enjoyed thoroughly.</p>
<hr/><p>Clara simply stared at her girlfriend for a few more seconds, in unabashed awe of her. Sometimes she needed to really stop herself and remember exactly who this was. This wasn’t some gorgeous blonde she somehow picked up on her travels, a chosen one for a short fling. This beautiful creature was once her grey-haired stick insect, one she thought at one point, was incapable of showing any emotions besides anger and occasionally happiness, mostly at her expense. But to his credit, he eventually got much better at it. But he wasn’t on the level of her. This version of the Doctor seemed to be exactly like the ones she knew before her, yet completely different at the same time.</p><p>There was the same goofiness, the same passion and drive, the same ability to love and the same devotion to people that mattered a lot to her. But there were some updates to this version. She was more emotionally sound than before. This Doctor had no problems revealing certain emotions to those around her. She was definitely a lot more friendly than her previous incarnation, sometimes a bit too talkative, but she liked that about her. There was a tenderness and softness to her that was a regular thing, it being a rare occurrence for the White Haired Scotsman. It had taken a few days or so to really get used to her new form. There would be times where she’d call for her and then being momentarily confused at who showed up. Mostly because she was so un-Doctor like. She really needed it rammed into her head that the man she once knew was the woman she now loved.</p>
<hr/><p>The sound of heels tapping against the floor got the Doctor’s attention, as her day dreaming was interrupted. She looked for the source of the sound, wanting to see what disturbed her. She saw a group of students coming towards her as they made their way out of the university, but one person (who was most definitely not a student) made her way out of the pack and walked towards her. The Doctor’s hearts began to beat faster and faster as she saw Clara coming towards her. She’d known her through three regenerations and had been dating her for a short while, yet she still had this rush of nerves whenever she saw her most of the time. Maybe she’d get over it one day, but she also kinda didn’t want to. This mini rush and thrill she got when seeing Clara made life interesting and exciting to her.</p><p>“Hi.” Clara said, as she moved a stray hair strand from her face, the wind messing up her prior smoothing. The heels she wore helped remove the slight height gap between her and the Doctor as she watched her in the eyes, loving the sight of the Doctor’s emerald irises.</p><p>“Hello.” the Doctor responded as she swiftly turned away, eager to hide the blushes on her face, something Clara never ceased to find adorably funny. It amazed her that for two immortals who had been travelling for so long with and without each other, they often reverted to two shy teenagers whenever they were in each other’s presence, usually in public.</p><p>“Thanks for waiting.”</p><p>“Ah, it’s nothing. Just wanted to make it a bit easier for you since it’s the end of your first week back as a teacher. “</p><p>The Doctor snapped her fingers as the Tardis’ doors opened up, a trick she learned long ago from her wife, River. There was the occasional worry of what would happen if River found out about her and Clara, but it was usually dashed away as her attention would get diverted.</p><p>“Shall we?” the Doctor asked as she held out her hand next to Clara’s own.</p><p>“We shall.” Clara said as she enclosed the Doctor’s hand within her own as they walked into the Tardis, ready to start their weekend with each other.</p><p>Spending time together wasn’t a new thing for them. In fact, it was mostly all they did the first week or two of Clara’s arrival. But it held a different stature and feel to it, now that Clara had returned to work. When Yaz, Graham or Ryan separately or the trio as a whole had wanted to travel, she’d go along with it but if she could help it, she’d simply just pop ahead a few hours after kissing Clara goodbye in the morning, eager to see her again.</p><p>Today had been a bit different though. The rest of the Fam weren’t around and the Doctor had special plans for the rest of the day. So on an extremely rare occasion, the Doctor stayed put. She found a quiet place to park in the area and she simply waited for the day to go by. Sure; she did get bored, but for once, she wanted to feel time pass like how Clara did, how the Fam did. She realized that it ended up making this reunion that much sweeter, the old adage of absence making the heart grow fonder being proved to be true yet again for her.</p>
<hr/><p>“So, pizza, booze, telly again tonight?” Clara asked as she hung her jacket on the coat and hat rack (a returning object the Doctor had always meant to bring back). Despite her immortality and certain lack of specific functions (no heartbeat), Clara still retained the human ability to get tired, so there were no real adventures this week, her eagerness to start her returning to teaching off right, tiring her. So she and the Doctor had fallen into a mini routine of what they called “pizza, booze, telly”, something the Doctor had picked up from her old friend Craig. It basically meant them usually eating something from the Tardis kitchen, having a drink of some kind and then cuddling together watching television.</p><p>“Actually, I was thinking we could try a different course of action today,” the Doctor said as she began inputting coordinates into the Tardis, “It’s nothing too exciting. Just a bit different than usual.”</p><p>Clara’s face contorted into one of slight confusion. The Doctor never usually sounded like that, the tone she just used being most notably associated with unsureness. She trusted her completely, obviously, but she was still intrigued by what this different course of action was.</p><p>“Like what?”</p><p>“Well… it’s kind of a surprise.” the Doctor sheepishly said as she tried her best to not tell Clara where they were going right there and then. She had been quite excited to do this when she came up with the idea earlier today and telling Clara now would have ruined the moment.</p><p>A surprise. The Doctor had never really been the best at surprises when he/she tried to. Often the surprises had been getting the place they were going to wrong, so she mentally prepared for an earlier night in after they’d no doubt be tired after some wayward adventure.</p><p>“Hmm. Ok, let’s go then,” Clara agreed as she watched the Doctor, “Go ahead, pull the lever.”</p><p>The Doctor did as she was told, slowly pulling down the lever as she watched back Clara with a nervous smile. She really hoped this would work. She knew that the Tardis had a habit of taking them to places they didn’t choose. Hell, that’s kinda how they fell in love in the first place. But the Tardis had been suspiciously accurate recently for them and the Fam, which meant a miss was always coming. After a few seconds, the Tardis came to a complete stop.</p><p>The Doctor had a quick peek at the scanner, ever so hoping that it was the right place. A wide grin appeared on the Doctor’s face as she saw that it was indeed where she wanted to go. Perhaps the Tardis also saw it as where she needed to go as well. A sigh of relief blew over her as she relaxed, that brief period of waiting making her so nervous.</p><p>Clara picked up on it, despite her attention being briefly diverted by her phone alerting her to a message. It was a reminder from Yaz about their talk. Yaz had been considering potentially moving into an apartment and wanted some advice on it. She had considered responding to the message fully, but instead wrote to Yaz, <em><strong>“TTYL, with the Doctor”</strong></em> She knew Yaz would understand her situation simply by those last three words. Right now, she wanted her focus to be on the Doctor, and her alone.</p><p>“Well, what do you have planned for today then? What’s got you like that?” Clara inquired, letting the Doctor know she saw her.</p><p>“Why don’t you see for yourself?” the Doctor told her with a sly smirk. She had an ace up her sleeve and she wanted Clara to know it.</p><p>She snapped her fingers, and the doors flew open, giving way to an interesting scent. Clara immediately knew they weren’t in Sheffield anymore, the scent being the obvious proof. After a few seconds, she figured out exactly what it was; it was seawater. There was an initial worry over why she smelled that, but a look from the Doctor seemed to calm her down. For once, in a situation that didn’t involve a high amount of danger, the Doctor seemed quite calm, even confident and in control. It was odd, but very welcoming for Clara.</p><p>“I’d like to say I planned this for a while, but I didn’t, really. Came up with it earlier today. Go on, check it out.” the Doctor said, the sly smirk turning into a warm smile.</p><p>Clara did as she was told and began walking towards the outside, the scent becoming stronger and stronger. As she reached the outside, she was greeted with a less than solid ground. She looked down to see she was on sand, perhaps the whitest sand she had ever seen. A look ahead made her gasp as she saw the waters. Turquoise and marbled azure, the waters were cleaner than anything she had ever seen before. She took a few more steps out into the new destination, now quite intrigued as to what was going on.</p><p>Surely this must be a mistake. The Doctor got it wrong. She tried her best yes, but she was never this romantic. At least, she didn’t remember her being that much. Before she could maneuver any more, she felt arms wrap around her. She was initially scared but calmed down when she saw who it was that was doing it. The Doctor rested her chin on Clara’s shoulders as she held her tight, enjoying the warm feel of her as they stood there together.</p><p>“This, is the Matira Beach in Bora Bora in French Polynesia. I was flicking through some magazine Graham had left here, and I saw this place on one of the pages. Pretty cool, isn’t it?” the Doctor said as she waited for an answer.</p><p>Clara took a few seconds to respond, simply in awe of the Timelord’s surprise. When she did, however, it was with tears in her eyes as she turned to face the Doctor. “It’s…..it’s….. it’s wonderful. This is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.” she said with a sad smile.</p><p>“We all need to be pampered every once in a while. Consider this a reward for completing one week of work. Don’t expect this every week, by the way.” the Doctor stated as she finished with a goofy smile.</p><p>“I can’t thank you enough for this.”</p><p>“Being able to be with you again is enough thanks for a lifetime for me. How’s about we get better attired for the beach?”</p><p>Clara nodded with a laugh as the pair interlocked hands again, walking back inside with an renewed purpose of getting ready to enjoy themselves on this gorgeous beach.</p>
<hr/><p>After somehow managing to get the Doctor to actually wear a swimsuit (she really had to fight against her wearing swim trunks), Clara and the Doctor found themselves lounging in the late afternoon sun. The feel of the warm sand underneath them allowed them to ease into a laze that lasts for a little while. Would they get sand all over them? Yeah, but not only had they been through much worse, but it was all worth it for the duo.</p><p>Eventually, the Doctor found herself drifting off to sleep, the atmosphere of it all overcoming her. She would have liked to wake up normally, but normality is hardly ever for the Doctor, even in the best of times. About a half hour after she fell asleep, she was awoken by a splash of water on her face. She woke up with a start, ready to fight whoever did that, when she saw Clara in a giggling fit in front of her, her body wet from being in the waters. She did smile seeing such a lovely sight in front of her, but she wasn’t about to let that deed go unpunished.</p><p>“Of course you realize this means war.” the Timelord said as she slowly got up to her feet. She saw the mischievous look on Clara’s face as she gained one of her own. She had her next mission and her target was right in front of her.</p><p>Clara immediately knew what was coming and took off with a start as the Doctor followed in hot pursuit. The chase didn’t last long as the Doctor’s thirst for revenge fueled her. She managed to tackle Clara near the water as she went over and scooped some in her hand and doused her significant other with it, much to her protests. The revenge didn’t last for long as the Doctor gave her apology instantly, a loving and lingering kiss. When the two eventually had to come up for air, they found themselves laughing at the hilarity of it all, the absurdity of it all. The idea that they would find themselves doing this, after all they’ve been through. After the regeneration, the Moon, Danny, Missy, the recklessness, the Raven and the mindwipe, they find themselves together once again. Even with its best shot, the universe couldn’t keep them apart forever, no matter how hard it tried.</p>
<hr/><p>The beach day couldn’t last forever, the feel of a nice bed calling them towards the Tardis. The pair spent a few more hours on the beach before having to bid it adieu for now, making a plan to try to come there more times in the future. Now the normality returned. The Doctor was sat up, reading an Agatha Christie novel, enjoying it despite figuring out the killer by the end of Chapter 1. Clara was absentmindedly enjoying some new show on Netflix, something about some serpent or snake, she forgot the name. It was some crime show. Although, she did think that the main actress looked familiar, but she passed it off to the actress having one of those faces. As she completed another episode, she clicked off the TV, finding something else far more engrossing. The Doctor didn’t realize it at first, her own attention being given to the novel, but she eventually saw Clara staring at her.</p><p>“Find something nice?” the Doctor asked, playing with her as she marked her place in the book, knowing what was coming next.</p><p>“Nah, just something a bit old to be quite honest.” Clara said, teasing the Doctor.</p><p>“Oi! You’re one to talk.” the Doctor teased back.</p><p>“Fair-point,” Clara responded, giggling, as she closed the book for the Doctor and placed it on the bedside table, “… I just wanted to tell you once again, how thankful I am for what you did today.”</p><p>“I already told you, there’s no need to thank me. Being able to call you my girlfriend is enough for me.” the Doctor said as she now turned to her side to watch Clara.</p><p>“I know, but I still feel I need to say it. Just for me.”</p><p>“Well, you’re welcome then.”</p><p>Clara was happy with the acceptance of thanks from the Doctor, but there was something else at the back of her mind. Something she had been meaning to ask the Doctor for a while. She never really found the right time for it, but as it came to her head there and then and they were here together, she decided to do it now.</p><p>“Do you ever miss him?” Clara asked suddenly.</p><p>“Him who?” the Doctor asked, slightly confused.</p><p>“The previous version of you.” Clara told her. She had been meaning to ask a question like this since he first regenerated in front of her. It had burned at her even more when she saw that he had changed into not only a woman, but someone so different from his previous regeneration.</p><p>The Doctor laid there, deep in thought for about a minute or so, really trying to come up with a sufficient answer. Eventually she seemed content with one and decided to give Clara what she wanted. “Yes, and no. I do miss him sometimes purely due to the fact that I was him for a long period of time. Even more so because of how I choose to live my life, stemming from his instructions as he was about to regenerate. I take so many different things from all the lives I’ve lived, trying to keep them as part of me. But at the same time, I have to move on. If I stay too stuck in my memories, I’ll never go anywhere.”</p><p>“So what do you do to make sure you don’t forget the previous.. yous?” Clara asked.</p><p>“I took a cue from you, actually. I guess you can say I give the different versions their five minutes. Like you do Danny. I don’t do it every day, but ever so often I’ll find myself reminiscing for a few minutes about one of them. It allows me to give them their time but sufficiently move on.”</p><p>“….. Did you ever think about me, after you remembered me?” Clara asked, another question burning in her mind, one she felt she had to ask, eventually.</p><p>“At first, no. The combination of a new regeneration rewriting my brain and just the general feeling of guilt over what happened made it so difficult to think about you.”</p><p>“So what changed?” Clara being so close to the Doctor was unable to really prevent her from seeing how much hearing that hurt her. But seeing as she went through a similar process early on in her travels with Ashidlr, it made it easier to stomach.</p><p>“To be honest, Gallifrey being destroyed. Seeing it like that just brought up all the memories of it for me, good and bad. So I eventually remembered the mindwipe and what happened there. It only compounded the pain from losing Gallifrey, but eventually I began remembering the good times we had and how much I enjoyed them. Then not too long after that, you come back into my life, knocking on my door.” the Doctor said, finishing with a smile.</p><p>Clara initially didn’t know how to react, simply staring at the Doctor for a few seconds, before she wrapped her lips around the Doctor’s, enjoying the feel of them for a brief period. As they broke the kiss, the Doctor, despite her enjoyment of the kiss, was a bit perplexed at exactly why she got it.</p><p>“What was that for?”</p><p>“For listening to me, from all those years ago. “</p><p>“By doing what?”</p><p>“Remembering me. I told you to run and remember me, and even after all this time and all what happened, you still did.” Clara said with a smile.</p><p>“Ah well, you got in my head and once you get in someone’s head, no matter what happens, you never leave.” the Doctor said, returning the smile. The pair shared another kiss, this one lasting longer than the previous one.</p><p>“I love you.”</p><p>“I love you too.”</p><p>The duo then turned in for bed, wanting to be restful and ready for tomorrow. It would be business as usual, travelling through time and space in this blue box. But just for today, they just wanted to spend some time being with each other and remembering why they loved each other. Donna had once told the Doctor that she needed someone to stop her. She tried to find that person, succeeding a few times but never really finding that one true person, until Clara. It had taken a long time to reach here, but she would be forever grateful she got here. Just the Doctor in the Tardis with her Impossible Girl, a tale she hoped would continue forevermore.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>They have all the time in the world....</p></blockquote></div></div>
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